NOTE: This page contains 7 fairly large jpg and gif files so it
will load slowly.

Terminal ballistics is the science of what happens when the bullet strikes the target
(and thus the mechanism of incapacitation). For a very long time this field was based on
myths, misunderstandings, and in many cases outright misstatements. It wasn't until
accurate and consistent tissue simulants and modern high speed x-ray photography started to be utilized
that much of what happens began to be understood more fully. Even today there is still
a
lot of terminal "bull-istics" being put forth by self-styled experts based on
so-called "street data," pet theories of the proponent, and some cases even
manufacturer's incentives. However, those who have taken the time to research the subject
and who understand the medical principles involved have learned to separate the bull from
the bullets.

Note that while we are primarily talking about projectiles used in self
defense the principal hold for hunting ammunition.

I have broken this page into two separate pages to speed up load time.

Fr. Frog's Rules of Terminal
Ballistics

1) There
ain't no magic bullets!
2) Only center hits count
3) Make the biggest diameter hole you can to let blood out and air in.
4) Small bullets may expand, but big bullets never shrink.
5) Make the deepest hole you can to insure that vital organs and nerve centers
can be reached and
destroyed from all impact angles.
6) "Service" your threat until it is no longer a threat.
7) No small arm can guarantee 100% instant
incapacitation of a determined adversary--man or beast.
8) Don't believe manufacturer's claims.
9) Inconsequential increments are meaningless.
10) Most gun writers are pathological liars.

Definition of Terms

Armor Piercing - A bullet constructed of hardened material or carrying a hardened core
specifically designed to penetrate bullet resistant, or armor-plated targets such as
tanks, trucks, and other vehicles. Depending on the definition used for
"armored" any small arms ammunition could be considered armor piercing. As an
example, a target designed to resist pistol ammunition can be penetrated by rifle
ammunition, or a target designed to resist rifle fire ammunition can be penetrated by a
heavy caliber weapon or a light cannon.

Fragmentation - The disruption of the bullet into many pieces caused
by the forces of impact on the bullet.

Full Jacketed - A bullet designed with the core of the bullet
completely encased in a metal jacket to prevent expansion of the bullet upon impact. Fully
jacketed bullets generally give the deepest penetration of any bullet design, all else
being equal. The can be constructed with a lead core and a very thick copper or
stell jacket, or they can be a solid metal bullet, usually made of copper,
bronze, or gilding metal, known as a monolithic solid

Geneva Convention(s) -
Some people claim that the use of "hollow point bullets" is illegal in
warfare under the Geneva Convention (which is a set of international agreements
to provide for "civilized" behavior between nations at war). The topic
was actually addressed by the Hague Accords of 1899 and 1907 and
proscribed the use of "arms, projectiles, or material of a nature to cause
superfluous injury" (or in some documents "unnecessary
suffering") and neither term is defined. By the way the conventions
only apply to a declared war against national enemies by signatory parties.
The US is not a signatory of this convention, but does abide by it. The hoplophobic press also latches on to
this whenever those
"evil" dum-dum, cop-killer, flesh shredding, crime causing bullets are mentioned
by the gun grabbing liberals.

Hollow Point - A bullet (usually of jacketed
construction) designed with the core of the bullet exposed by means of a cavity in
its nose to facilitate expansion upon impact. Actual expansion can be altered by
intervening material or by the bullet's construction.

In regards to the use of "open tip
match" bullets which provide increased accuracy and which are not
specifically designed to expand, the Hague Convention IV of 1907 (and NOT
the Geneva Convention) does not proscribe bullets which yaw and fragment in
tissue. This position was not disputed by the 1978 UNCCW Conference and
was reconfirmed during its’ review in 1994 - 1996. Thus theUS Judge
Advocate General office's 1990 decision to authorized certain OTM projectiles, which
yaw and then fragment just like many FMJ bullets, for unrestricted land
warfare use is perfectly legal under international law and neither the nannie-state
UN nor any other organization have any grounds to protest their use.

If one wanted to get technical about this
issue there is really no basic for proscribing a bullet that does expand, since
a) there is nothing about them that causes "unnecessary suffering; and b)
an expanding bullet is simply an attempt to make a small diameter bullet create
a wound channel that a larger diameter bullet would, and most
"expanding bullets create a less messy wound then fragmenting bullets do.
In actuality this so-called "ban" is very misleading for while
expanding projectiles may supposedly be proscribed, the use of mines,
explosives, fragmentation, and flame weapons which indiscriminately shred and
maim their victims are not.

Permanent Cavity - The permanent "hole" left in the target
by the bullet's passage. It is caused by the crushing and cutting effect of the bullet.
Depending on the bullet's design it can be quite large in diameter or hardly noticeable.
Pointed or round nose non-expanding, non-tumbling bullets make the smallest holes.

Penetration Depth - The final depth of the projectile's penetration at
the end of the permanent cavity

Semi-wadcutter - A bullet designed with a sharp bore diameter shoulder
the enhances its cutting action without requiring expansion.

Soft Point - A jacketed bullet designed with the soft core of the
bullet exposed at its nose to facilitate expansion upon impact. Softpoint bullets tend to
give slower expansion and deeper penetration than hollow points all else being equal.
Actual expansion can be altered by intervening material or by the bullet's construction.

Stopping Power - A popular but imprecise term meaning Wound Trauma
Incapacitation

Temporary Cavity - The boundary of the temporary displacement of
tissue by the hydrostatic effect (fluid pressure) of the bullets passage.

Wound Trauma Incapacitation (WTI) - The inability of a human or animal
to continue purposeful action due to the effects of being struck by a
penetrating missile.

Incapacitation(Hey! STOP that, right now!)

The subject of incapacitation is one of vital interest to anyone who depends upon a
firearm to either protect their life from an assailant or who needs to stop a dangerous
animal. What is needed in both cases (and even in the case of a non-dangerous game animal)
is to turn off--S T O P--whatever the target is attempting to do, whether
it is trying to kill you, someone else, or simply trying to run away. Whether or not the
target eventually dies of the wound(s) is of only academic interest at the moment the
shot is fired. You want (need) instant (or as near to instant as you can get) results!
This function is commonly referred to as "stopping power" but a more
precise term is Wound Trauma Incapacitation (WTI).

Interestingly, while the hunter, police officer,
or civilian has always been interested in the immediate termination of all actions
of the individual or animal that was shot, the military hierarchy is for
the most part, has been primarily interested in creating a wound that will require medical treatment and
hopefully the use of several other enemy troops to help the individual who was
hit--which takes several people out of combat effectiveness with one
wound. Thus, the military considers that an "effective" hit as
one that simply delivers approximately 53 foot pounds (some sources say 35) of
energy to the target rather than one that instantly shuts down the target.
Thankfully this attitude is being replaced with the proper mindset. (The poor GI
actually IN combat wants the same results as the hunter, police officer,
or civilian--making the other guy stop trying to kill him. As
the famous Patton quote goes, "... making the other dumb bastard die for
HIS country.")

For a long time many individuals believed that the the mechanism of incapacitation was
either energy transfer (how many foot-pounds of bullet energy was dumped into the target)
or the size of the temporary cavity caused by the "shockwave" of the bullet's
passage, or as some writers would have you to believe, the brand of ammo (usually the
brand that they were getting free).

The Mechanics of Projectile Wounding

There are four components of projectile wounding.
While not all of these components relate entirely to incapacitation they must
all be considered.

Penetration. The tissue through
which the projectile and which it disrupts or destroys.

Permanent Cavity. This is the volume of
space once occupied by tissue that has been destroyed by the passage of
the projectile. In other words, the hole left by the bullet.
It is a function of penetration and the frontal area of the projectile

Temporary Cavity. This is the temporary
stretching of the permanent cavity due to the transfer of kinetic energy
during the passage of the projectile.

Fragmentation. This is projectile
pieces or secondary bone fragments which are dispersed outward from the
permanent cavity. They may cause additional tissue damage.
It does not normally occur at handgun velocities and if it does the
fragments are usually within 1 cm of the permanent cavity.
Note: At rifle velocities greater than about 2400 fs the fragments
can travel several centimeters and greatly increase the permanent cavity
and tissue damage.)

Modern medical science has shown us that the mechanism of incapacitation,
while still not completely understood is based on two components. First is the
rapid loss of blood and permanent
tissue and nerve destruction caused by the the cutting and crushing action of the bullet's
passage or the destruction of the central nervous system. The second component is not as easily as quantifiable and is the physical and emotional state
of the target. A target pumped up on adrenaline or affected by narcotic or psychotic drugs
can be extremely resistant to bullet caused trauma while a target full of fear and self
doubt may "cease and desist" from a very minor wound. Since we cannot control
the target's physical or mental state we have to just worry about doing all damage that we
can TO the target.

Some will state that bullet placement is also a component. While in actuality it does
play a part in the final results it is not a component of ammunition/bullet performance. A
well placed hit that causes inadequate damage may be of infinitely less use than one that
causes massive and deep damage in a less well placed hit. (Although, ideally what you want
is a well placed hit that cause massive damage.)

Let's look at some of the theories, past and present.

Energy Transfer School - In this school of thought the more foot
pounds of kinetic energy a bullet "dumps" (loses) in its journey through the
target the more effective it should be in incapacitating the target. The measurements were
derived by measuring the bullet's velocity at impact and also its exit velocity (if any)
and then comparing the kinetic energy of the projectile at those two velocities. The
difference was considered the energy transferred to the target. Under this theory a .22
Long Rifle bullet which did not exit the target could be more "effective" than
let's say a .357 that blew right through the target. (While this is an extreme example you
get the point.) What the bullet did TO the target while traversing it was
not examined. This school of thought favored light-weight high-velocity bullets which
possessed high kinetic energy and which usually did not exit their target.
To give you an idea about problems with this idea "authorities" have
stated that delivering between 35 and 270 ft/lbs of energy is
"effective." That's almost a 9x discrepancy and there has never
been any scientific or medical proof that KE does anything to soft targets.
One of the most famous of the energy dump studies was done by DeMaio, in the
late 60s.

Temporary Cavity School - In this school of thought the larger the
temporary cavity made by the bullets passage the more effective it should be. The
measurement of the temporary cavity was derived by measuring high speed x-ray photographs
of the temporary cavity displaced by the bullet on the theory (never
proven) that the farther tissue was
displaced the greater the nerve trauma. The actual damage done by the bullet was
ignored. In general the faster the bullet is traveling the
greater the temporary cavity, all else being equal.

Several thing have proved wrong with this theory. First of all, as any surgeon knows,
muscle and bowel tissue is very elastic. During surgery such tissue can be moved
substantial distances without any harm to the person. Second, most temporary cavities are
quite shallow (although bullet design plays a role here) and thus do not effect much in
the way of vital organs. Third, the temporary cavity is not very large
with pistol rounds (not much greater than about 4" in diameter) and of very short duration.
Unless
the limits of elasticity are reached (which take velocities in the 2200 f/s and higher
range) no permanent damage or injury results. The exception to this is inelastic tissue
such as organs like the brain, liver, kidneys, and spleen--but counting on hitting one of those
organs is a risky business. This school also tends to favor high velocity although bullet construction/performance
is also considered.

The most famous of these studies was the "Relative Incapacitation
Index" study done by the the National Institute of Law Enforcement and
Criminal Justice in the early 70s using their "computer man," and which was almost immediately invalidated
due to false assumptions, blatant data errors, and the use of 20% gelatin.

It should be noted that there is, however, an instance where the temporary cavity may aid in the
WTI process. That instance is when the a high velocity
(> 2400 fs) rifle bullet fragments
during the creation of the temporary cavity. Temporary cavities from most high
power rifles can be 5 - 8 inches in size, and this can sometimes cause the tissue to suffer
somewhat more damage than by just the bullets passage alone as the tissue can be cut or
damaged during its stretched or stressed state by the bullet fragments and thus create a
somewhat larger permanent cavity. If the wound is deep enough this can increase
the incapacitation effect. This effect is seen with the military ball ammo
fired in the full sized M16 rifles.

The "Hydrostatic Shock" School - This school of though,
which is sort of an adjunct to the temporary cavity school, thinks that the
"hydrostatic shock" or hydraulic pressure wave of the bullet's passage
travels through out the body and shocks the brain and nervous system into momentarily
shutting down which disables the target. Tests have been run with
instrumented pig carcasses and other in the immediate vicinity of the bullets
passage no significant hydraulic effect was noted.

Big Hole School - In this school of thought, sometimes
referred to as the Fackler/IWBA school, and the medically correct
one, the more permanent damage that is done to the target
(and incidentally the more rapidly the target bleeds out) the more effective the bullet
and more likely incapacitation. The more tissue cut, crushed, and/or destroyed by the
bullet's passage the better, as more real system trauma results. In addition, in order to
be effective at all target angles the bullet must penetrate sufficiently to reach vital
organs in the target no matter from what direction the bullet impacts. Most authorities
agree that for anti-personnel use a minimum penetration in calibrated ballistic gelatin of
about 12" (with 14" - 15" being considered ideal) is needed. This is necessary to
achieve reliable performance under all conditions against a human target. It should be
noted that minimum depth for major blood vessels and organs in a human is about 15cm ( 6")--from
straight on, but it is considerably more from various angles. With
bullets used for hunting the general consensus is the deeper the better. In both cases
this has to be coupled with the ability to create the largest diameter permanent hole
possible. Most authority seem to agree that the permanent hole needs to be at least .4" or
greater in diameter and as deep as possible. A problem arises here in that as a bullet
expands it tends to penetrate less, so expansion and penetration have to be carefully
balanced by bullet weight and bullet construction. This bullet design problem is
exacerbated by the fact that if a target is covered by some material such as cloth, glass,
metal, etc. the expansion--and hence the penetration of the bullet--can alter
dramatically.

The big hole school tends to favor medium to heavy weight bullets at moderate velocity, with a
general preference to bullets of .40 caliber and greater, that penetrate deeply
and destroy a lot of tissue in the process. The stated
requirements for optimum performance are:

An average penetration of 12" - 16" in 10 percent bare gelatin
(higher the better)

A Quick Note on Bullet Diameter - Some folks who
think the 9 mm is the perfect round say "how can a "silly
millimeter" between a 9 mm / .355" and a 10 mm / .40" make
any real difference. What they are missing is the fact that it's not
the diameter that's important, but rather the area of impact that determines
the amount of damage produced--the reason we like to use expanding
bullets. Note the how the percentage of impact/damage area increase as bullet
diameter goes up. Since expanding bullets frequently do not
expand it makes sense to start with a bullet diameter you'd like the 9
mm bullets to expand to.

Bullet diameter (in)

Impact Area (in2)

Area increase
over 9 mm

9 mm (355")

.098

--

.38/.357 (.357)

.101

2%

10 mm/.40 (.400")

.125

27%

.41 (.410")

.132

34%

.44 (.430")

.145

47%

.45 (.452")

.160

63%

Incidentally, round or pointed nose, non-expanding bullets tend to push
tissue aside rather than crush it, and the permanent cavity for a non-tumbling
bullet of these designs usually runs about 65 -70 percent of the diameter of the
projectile. Non-expanding heavy jacketed or monolithic (solid metal)
projectiles with large metplates yield
permanent cavities of between 70 and 80 percent of the diameter of the
projectile (and the large metplats helps them to penetrate in
a straight path rather than veer off. ) The very blunt and often sharp-edged shape of an
expanded projectile can yield a a permanent cavity of between 80 - 90+ percent
of the expanded projectile's diameter.

The most famous of these studies is the FBI "Ammunition Standards" testing
and evaluation done in the late 80s which attempted to rank ammunition
effectiveness. While the study was well done and showed the effectiveness
of making a large diameter and deep hole the ranking system was flawed because of
the following test assumptions

Bullet expansion, in and of itself, was rewarded. Thus a 9 mm bullet
that expanded to .45" was rated as more effective than a .45 cal bullet
that did not expand even if the wounds were identical.

Penetration depth of 12" was awarded a value of "1" while a
penetration of 11.9" was given a value of "0," the same as a
penetration of 6".

The FBI has since stopped ranking the ammunition and has just started to
publish the test results themselves. I personally think that a ranking
system based solely upon a combination of actual penetration depth modified by
the average dimensions of a human torso (to discount cavity volume outside the
depth of a torso), and the volume of the permanent cavity might make a useful
ranking system if the statistical caveats could be worked out.

One word about depth of penetration. Some people in law enforcement hold that too much
penetration with ammunition used for self defense is a bad thing. They fearfully
warn that a bullet
that passes through a target may hit someone else resulting in all kinds of law suits.
However, considering that according to action reports from the NYPD that 80 - 90
percent of the shots fired in law
enforcement situations fail to even hit the target (Gunsite, Thunder
Ranch, and a few other school grads excepted!) I
wouldn't worry too much if your ammo is penetrative. Better too much than not enough when
the chips are down. However, ammunition that meets stated
requirements above for optimum performance will in most circumstances not exit
with a frontal torso hit

Interestingly, the big hole school has always been accepted in the dangerous
game hunting
field as the way to go, yet for some reason tissue damage and deep
penetration have taken a while to be accepted by handgunners. Maybe the reason that energy dump and temporary cavity believers aren't vocal in the hunting
area is that it is hard to pontificate when you are in between the toes of a cape
buffalo or in a lion's or bear's stomach. Another interesting observation
is that much of the existing medical literature on bullet wounds is still full
of misconceptions and false statements. While things seem to be slowly
improving there is quite a way to go for medical literature to catch up with the
truth. (The whole "I have a theory" that is then taken as gospel
movement is the same one that seems to infect the global warming folk.)

The Bullet of the Month School (The Magic Bullet School) - This school
of though is pushed by the unscrupulous manufacturers of some bullets that they
claim are magic, and the gun writers who receive free samples and other perks
laud them without scientifically testing them. These include things like bullets made of esoteric substances (like
the "blended metal" bullets) and bullets with unusual shapes,
construction ("exploding" bullets), or other properties. Most
are things that have been dreamed up long ago and have been resurrected in an
attempt to make money and are consistently shown to be no better than or usually
worse performers than more conventional designs when tested.

A couple of things to note in regards to damaging the
"target." First the vital organs in a human torso are placed
much higher in the chest than many people believe, and your aim point should be
between the armpits rather than "center of mass" when shooting a human
adversary. Second, the central
nervous system is actually not very large and is difficult to hit.

Organ layout

Vital organs are above
the "center of mass."

The central nervous
system.

The graphic below shows a cross section of a human torso. Note that for
a bullet to be able to reach the vital organs from any direction but directly
from the front that a bullet will have to penetrate quite a bit. The
average torso is between 10 and 12" thick front to back, and while a
6" penetration may get the vital organs from dead front, any shots from the
side will have to penetrate significantly more, which means that a bullet should
have a penetration of 12" or more to be affective from any angle.

One of the tools used to compare the effects of ammunition is the
"wound profile." Wound profiles are simply dimensioned photographs or carefully
prepared scale drawings of test firings in calibrated ballistic gelatin. The wound
profiles below are some typical examples of what a bullet does on impact.

Surprisingly more work with wound profiles has been done with
handgun ammunition than with rifle ammunition used for hunting. This is a
fertile field for researchers.

Properly prepared and calibrated ballistic gelatin gives
performance and penetration results within about 2 percent of of results obtained in
actual tissue. "Properly prepared" means that the gelatin is a 10 percent
mixture of ballistic gelatin (Kind and Knox Type 250) prepared with water heated to no more
than104° F (40° C) and then stored and shot at a stabilized 39° F (4° C).
Click here for the procedure for making ballistic gelatin.

Please note that gelatin
testing cannot be used to predict the "effectiveness" of
ammunition. There are simply too many variables in real life.

Testing bullets in gelatin
as a soft tissue simulant provides useful information about a bullet's terminal mechanical performance and
wounding producing effect and nothing more.
These two characteristics are directly linked to the bullet’s design,
construction, and velocity.

Terminal mechanical performance
is a measure of bullet penetration, expansion, fragmentation and yaw at a
given velocity.

Wounding producing effect is the disruption
produced by a bullet’s terminal performance characteristics in the target.

To be "effective" a bullet must
inflict an injury that produces dysfunction of the central nervous system.
This is accomplished by either or both direct physical damage to a
central nervous system structure (the bullet must penetrate the brain or
cervical spinal cord), or blood loss in quantity to rapidly deprive the
brain of the oxygenated blood it needs to remain conscious (the bullet must
penetrate a major cardiovascular structure). The effectiveness of
ammunition is thus a consequence of
shot-placement (the bullet’s path through the body), its penetration, and
the tissue/organs destroyed. It cannot be measured in a tissue simulant.
However, a bullet/ammunition that displays good wound producing effect in a
calibrated simulant will most likely perform well in a live encounter, all things being
equal.

"Keep in mind that ordnance gelatin is
an approximation for living muscle, and most shots go through several tissue
types. It is a rough approximation. The "correction procedure" can
mislead in giving the impression that gelatin is a more exact technique than
it really is. The important thing is to record the speed and penetration of
the BB along with your data. I have worked, and continue to work, with many
gelatin users; and don't know anybody who actually uses the correction
procedure -- but they all record the velocity and penetration." -- Dr.
Martin Fackler

This particular profile is that of an early .45ACP 185gr. Silvertip
Winchester @ 940 f/s. This is a classic non-fragmenting expanding bullet wound profile.
The narrow portion at the start of the permanent cavity is called the "neck" and
its length is a function of the bullet's design. This particular load is a little short on
penetration at 25cm (9.8") with an expansion of .85". As a comparison the
Hornady +P 230gr XTP at 880 f/s gave 15.6" penetration and .72" expansion, the
Hornady 200gr XTP at 850 f/s gave 18.5" and .54", the Winchester 230gr Black
Talon at 858 f/s gave 13.5" and .73", and the Remington 185gr at 1020 f/s gave
10.5" and .83". Interestingly, Winchester must have got the word on
their 185 gr because a later
lot of this ammunition gave 882 f/s and 11" of penetration and .74" expansion.

For comparison the GI M1911 Ball ammo (230gr FMJRN at 869 f/s) produced a penetration of
26" with no expansion.

This particular profile is that of a ..38SPL +P 158gr. lead semi-wadcutter
hollow point "FBI" load @ 880 f/s. This is another example of a
typical non-fragmenting
expanding bullet wound profile produced by an expanding bullet. This particular load shows good penetration at 32cm
(12.6") and good expansion at .59". Perhaps this is one reason that this loading
has a good reputation on the street. The Winchester Black Talon 9mm 147gr JHP at 981 f/s
produced an almost identical profile with penetration of 35cm (13.8") and and
expansion of .61". In the .40 caliber ammo the profiles were very similar with the
Hornaday 155gr XTP at 1090 giving 14.3" penetration and .57" expansion, the
180gr XTP at 970 f/s giving 14.5" and .67", and the Winchester 180gr Black Talon
giving 13.4" and .68".

This profile is the Remington 125gr JSP .357 Magnum at 1390 f/s which has
an excellent reputation on the street. Note the shape and size of the temporary and
permanent cavities are very similar to the .38 Special round above and penetration is only
about 1.5" greater. Expansion is .66", only .07" greater than the .38 round
in spite of the vastly increased velocity. An excellent example of good bullet
construction at work. The equivalent JHP round gives about 10 percent less penetration and
a .70 expansion.

This is the 9 x 19 mm NATO M882 124 gr FMJ round and is typical of
small diameter round nose FMJ projectiles. Note that the permanent cavity
is very small and the projectile doesn't start to tumble until about 20 cm of
penetration. Not impressive nor effective in spite of the 1200 f/s
velocity.

This profile is the M855 5.56mm NATO cartridge, with a 62gr steel core FMJ
boat tailed bullet @ 3035 f/s. This is a classic fragmenting rifle bullet profile.
Penetration is acceptable at 34cm (13.4"). Note the long narrow neck of about 9 cm
(4") before the bullet tumbles and fragments. (The length of the neck can
vary from 9 cm to about 20 cm depending on impact velocity (one of the reasons
for its erratic performance). The original M193 55gr round produces a
similar profile but it has a longer neck, and slightly smaller temporary and permanent
cavities. Both of these bullets fracture violently at the cannelure at velocities above about 2700
f/s. Below that velocity the bullets may break into several large pieces or simply tumble without producing the extensive
permanent cavity, much like the 7.62 mm M80 ball round.

This is the profile from the 6.8 SPC (6.8 x 43 mm) with
the 115 gr Sierra Enhanced Fragmentation OTM bullet at 2620 f/s. Note the
short 6 cm neck, good fragmentation, and permanent cavity. If the bullet expands rather than
fragments the profile is very close to this with a slightly shorter neck and a
tail that goes straight with a penetration of between 35 and 38 CM.

As far as I know all the information presented above is
correct and I have attempted to insure that it is. However, I am not responsible for any
errors, omissions, or damages resulting from the use or misuse of this information, nor
for you doing something stupid with it. (Don't you hate these disclaimers? So do I, but
there are people out there who refuse to be responsible for their own actions and who will
sue anybody to make a buck.)